better
by klayn
Summary: Steve gets James to go running with him.


Firstly, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to "early morning runs". It was such a joy waking up to see all the positive feedback "early morning runs" had gotten.

Secondly, to the two guest reviewers who wanted more fic- here it is. I hope you enjoy it :)

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When Steve woke up and looked over at Sam's sleeping figure, he knew that he would probably be going running alone this morning. To be fair to Sam, though, the last few days had been kind of hectic, what with getting away from the remaining compliment of a HYDRA base out for their guts after the three of them had managed to destroy it, and Sam had clearly reached his body's limit.

Steve walked over to the window and pulled back the shades, letting the faint pre-dawn light come into the room and make things slightly more visible. He grabbed his running clothes from his suitcase and went into the bathroom, splashing water on his face to wake himself up some more as he got dressed.

When he left the bathroom, he felt someone looking at him and turned around to see that James, who had decided to sleep on the couch, was sitting up and watching him.

"Wanna come running with me?" he asked softly.

James's head turned to look at Sam, then went back to Steve, an unspoken question on his face. Steve shook his head. "He's too tired." After a few seconds of silence, Steve continued, "Please? I usually run with someone."

James nodded, and got up. He had been sleeping in sweatpants and a t-shirt, so he quickly tied his hair back and put on his socks and shoes.

They quickly left the hotel and came to a local park. As they did a few quick warm-up stretches, Steve looked at James and felt a pang in his heart at the lack of expression on his face. When he and Bucky had been doing this, Bucky would have had a small smile on his face as he turned to look at Steve, eyes alight with delight and happiness.

_That was then_, Steve mentally reminded himself. _This is now_, and the person next to him was not Bucky, or at least not wholly Bucky. There were bits and pieces of him in there, sure, but Bucky was someone who had held Steve with two human arms, who knew exactly where Steve could be touched and kissed to break him apart, who had looked over him and cared for him, even when Steve was no longer small and weak.

James was not the person he knew, but that was okay, because he was getting there, Steve told himself. He'd never be Bucky, but then again, Steve wasn't going to be the same Steve Rogers he'd been even just 1 year ago, when he worked for SHIELD and HYDRA was a long-dead threat.

After they'd finished stretching, Steve looked across at James and started running, hearing the even footfalls next to him as James ran, matching his pace perfectly. They ran silently for about thirty minutes, Steve losing himself in thoughts of the future (where and how to strike HYDRA next) and the past (how different this whole thing was from when he had last run with Bucky).

"Last lap?" asked Steve as they rushed past their starting point. James nodded, a slight smile curving his lips up, and Steve had to suppress an urge to pull him over and claim those lips. _There's time for that later_, he thought.

At the halfway point, he and James started slowing down, so that when they got back to the starting point, they were walking.

"Thanks for running with me," said Steve as he and James walked back to the hotel.

After a minute of silence, James replied. "We used to do this, didn't we." The way he said it, a statement and not a question, made Steve look over at him.

"We- we did," said Steve. "You used to not be quite able to keep up with me."

"Is it better now that I can?"

Steve was silent for a few seconds, considering his answer. "Yes," he said finally. "It's better."

And there was that small smile again, and this time, Steve grabbed James's mechanical arm and pulled him into a kiss. James didn't move for a few seconds, but just as Steve was starting to worry, James kissed back, his lips soft and uncertain, like someone who wasn't accustomed to kissing.

Steve finally pulled back and looked at James's face, which had a mix of pleasure and uncertainty on it. "Hey," Steve said. "It's fine, okay? You're _fine_. You're _allowed_ to do whatever you want."

"I know," replied James softly, leaning in for another kiss. After another few seconds, James pulled his lips away, still keeping his face close to Steve's as he breathed, "Thank _you_, Steve. For everything."


End file.
